Phone giant BT has apologised to Viv Tomkins after they claimed Indian call centre staff could not understand her Birmingham accent.

Viv, 59, had expected a sympathetic response when she tried to sort out a BT vision bill and complained she could not understand what the employees said.

She told the Sun: 'I couldn't believe the cheek of it. I know I've got a Brummie twang but I speak the Queen's English.'

Call centre: Viv Tomkins hung up in despair because she could not understand what the BT staff in India were saying

Viv, of Ladywood, Birmingham, was put through to India four times and claimed she had to hang up 'in despair' every time.

She said she was on the phone for 10 minutes at a time and constantly had to ask staff to repeat themselves.

Viv, a retired paramedic, added: I got so frustrated. I felt like throwing the phone out of the window.'

The final straw came when Charlene Conway, from BT’s correspondence centre in Durham, sent a letter blaming HER accent for the problem.

She wrote: 'I am sorry that you have been unhappy with the advisers. I
can certainly understand the difficulty in resolving your inquiries
whenever the advisers you have been speaking to are having problems
understanding you.'

BT said: We'd like to apologise. The letter was not intended to cause offence. We have contacted the customer to clarify.'